Are you okay? County dispatchers can receive 911 texts

Tribune photo by Aaron Piper / Jackson County Sheriff's Department dispatcher Tom Robbins of Vallonia monitors police activity on a computer Thursday at his desk in the dispatch center at the Jackson County Jail. A new system, in operation today, allows for the dispatcher to receive 911 text messages.

Tribune photo by Aaron Piper / Jackson County Sheriff's Department dispatcher Heather Davis of Brownstown answers a call Thursday in the dispatch center at the Jackson County Jail. A system that allows people to send 911 text messages became operational today.

Someone unable to speak can now text a 911 emergency message.

The system was put in place today. It allows the deaf or people unable to speak to communicate with Jackson County dispatchers about an emergency through text messaging.

That addition to the 911 system also will allow someone involved in an abduction or a home invasion to contact police without having to speak and put themselves in more danger.

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